Lost In The Forbidden Forest
by Commet
Summary: Lily and James are lost in the Forbidden Forest. One of my better fics. R/R!


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    Authors Note: Cheers to all the mentally troubled out there! Ok, yes, I know I should be working on La Belle Fleur, but I'm stuck on that story. Well, not really stuck, I'm kinda bored with it. Don't worry, though. I'll finish it someday. Anyways, this is one of those L/J stories where they don't exactly like each other. They get trapped in the forbidden forest together. Anyways, the stuff that in _italics_ is what happened like in the past, and when you see this *** it means I change the point of view. Enjoy! And if you review, I'll love you forever!
    
    **LOST IN THE FORBIDDEN FOREST
    **
    **By
     Commet
    **
    There are some people that, when they want something, beg, plead, plot, wait…and there are some people that simply take. James Potter was one of those people. He was tall and his black eyes contained a wicked sort of sparkle that made many people terribly afraid of him. His coal-black hair simply refused to let itself be managed, so it fell into his eyes making the slight jerk of head that he always used to get it out the definite mark of his character. He had a nasty habit of pulling his wand whenever he lost his temper (and considering that it was very short, a great many people got quite seriously injured when this happened). The whole Hogwarts population either a) greatly feared, b) deeply respected, c) loved beyond what words can describe, or d) despised him.
    Lily Evans often deceived many people with her sweet name and pretty appearance. Sure, she could be the adorable little angel that they thought her to be, and maybe she was—deep, deep down in her heart or perhaps very distant past—but that's not the side of her that the people that even vaguely knew her saw. She was as stubborn as a mule, and took it as a compliment whenever someone chose to enlighten her of that fact. She was stuffed with ambition, fire, and determination almost to the bursting.
    The two despised each other.

Some people thought that James and Lily were too much alike to ever get along. Others claimed they were too different. And yet others didn't trouble themselves with the philosophy of human relationships and simply enjoyed the fights that they so generously put up.

But no matter the reason for the two's obvious hatred, neither thought if funny when they found themselves lost in the forbidden forest with the night coming on. 
    
    "This is all your fault, you know." Lily mumbled as they stumbled through the thick trees. Her right cheek was red and slightly swollen. Her beautiful lion's mane of flaming hair was loaded with little twigs, dry leaves, and tree sap. The last got collected there when they attempted climbing an especially tall oak, trying to locate their where-abouts. The experiment had failed horribly, and Lily's numerous hair decorations were only some of the many nasty souvenirs received on the way down. 

James wasn't in so much better condition. His robes were ripped and he was covered head-to-toe with an uncountable amount of scratches and cuts that stung painfully. Both he and Lily were dotted with suspicious purple bites from the mosquitoes they had encountered at a near by pond and were unable to ward off, try as they might.

"My fault!?" James exclaimed. He knew perfectly well that it was, indeed, his fault that they were in this mess, but he had no absolutely intention of admitting ever that much. "How is it _my_ fault?!"

"This was all your dumb idea!" James winced, remembering. It _had_ been his idea. 

__

It was a quiet Friday evening (or should we say night) in the Gryffindor Common Room. The four Marauders had just finished adding most of the ingredients to a Polejuice potion that they were planning to use on a certain greasy-haired Slytherin, and were feeling quite content sitting around the fire place and playing—or watching—a relaxed game of chess. The light slipped out of the fireplace and onto the walls of the nearly-empty room causing the long shadows of the comfortable chairs and short, stubby tables to dance and skip. It was very late—or more precisely, very early. Most everybody was snuggled up comfortably in their beds, dreaming happily of the upcoming winter break or tossing and turning in the cold-sweat anxiety of the great Potions test that was to take place Monday. But at least three of this little band showed no sign of sleepiness as they whispered excitedly about their little plan.

It was then that Lily slipped into the Common Room wearing but her nightgown, a long Muggle novel clasped tightly in her hand. She stopped and stayed on the bottom step of the spiral staircase, eyeing the huddled boys suspiciously. Instead of being worried about what they were up to this time of night (as many inhabitants of the castle would have been) or of what they'd do to her if they caught her spying on them (once again, as most would), she was simply upset that the extra-comfortable chair that she so hoped to occupy was taken by—who else?—James Potter. But it was Sirius Black, however, that was the first to notice her presence.

"Miss Evans!" He cried, no doubt trying imitate the voice Professor McGonagall would have used upon seeing her up, and succeeding wonderfully. "What are you doing up at this hour!"

Lily—who had absolutely nothing against Sirius and even went as far as considering him a good friend when he wasn't alongside with James (it didn't happen often, as the two did everything together, but still…)—allowed herself to grin.

"I couldn't sleep." She informed them. All three Marauders that were awake (Peter was snoring loudly) had stopped talking and turned to face her.

"Well, then, might as well come join us!" Cried Sirius. "As you may notice, we're not planning on going to bed for quite awhile, and we'd be delighted to have your simply marvelous company to keep us from losing the battle we're fighting oh-so-hard against boredom." 

Lily grinned and walked over to take a seat besides Remus, who had just lost spectacularly to James. Speaking of James, he was glaring at Sirius, the look in his eyes clearly informing everyone present that he was mentally kicking himself for forgetting his wand in the boys' dormitory. He would have no doubt found the night much more pleasant without having one of his greater enemies at his side.

But suddenly, an evil look crossed his face, and a grin spread across it, breaking his frown. A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes, and he jerked his head slightly to get the hair out of them. 

"Play ya." He told Lily, nodding at the chessboard. She should have known that it would lead to no good.

They had come out onto a clearing now. In the middle of it grew an ancient, giant tree. Like everything else in the forest, the tree had to have something weird about it. It this case, it was the very top. Where one would have expected it to round, the branches stuck out like peaks of mountains laid on their sides. Lily didn't bother trying to identify it. All she needed was one look at the long, solid branches and the thick, bushy leaves, and the protection that they could provide. The sky was gray and covered with thunder clouds. 
    
    "Potter, stop." She called. 

James, who had been walking a little ways ahead of her, had apparently taken it to mind to skirt the clearing not sparing the tree an extra glance. He stopped, then turned to face her, the irritable expression on his face telling her clearly how much he didn't want to be there right now, especially with her. 

"Well?" He demanded, planting his hands on his hips. 

"Have you still no idea where we are?" Lily asked. 

"You have managed to wonder magnificently far from my already-explored perimeters, Miss Evans." Was all he said. Knowing that it was as much of a 'no' as she was getting from him, Lily decided to be satisfied well enough with that answer. 

"Don't call me that." She snapped. Then with a sigh, nodded her head towards the tree. "It'll be dark soon, and I don't want to be in the thick of the forest when that happens. And as we're still hopelessly lost, we might as well spend the night somewhere where we're less likely to be eaten by Spot Jr. or something and try to find out way back next morning."

James looked up at the sky, where massive storm clouds gathered threateningly, the sun just barely making a sight of orange in the west, and then followed Lily's gaze to the tree. Studying it thoughtfully, he jerked his head a bit to get the hair out of his eyes.

"I doubt it will make much of a difference." He said. "And we'll probably get even more drenched this way, and if this merry little tree is struck by lightning we might as well get killed, too, but alright. We'll camp under the—er—stars." He started casually walking towards it. "We might wonder further away from Hogwarts in the dark anyway."

Lily—who expected him to disagree (James had a hard time valuing her opinion)—was down right surprised when she wasn't forced to open her mouth with a well-prepared set of facts to argue her case. She shrugged at the back of his head (a very _messy _head to be more specific), and trotted to catch up.

__

They were already deep into the game when James (who was winning, but not by too much) looked up at her with a slight grim tugging at his lips. 

"I will bet you," he started. "that I am a more superior chess player and will win this game."

Lily was searching James's face with her eyes. Had he just bet himself winning, she would have never agreed to the bet. But since the word 'superior' found it's way into his sentence, Lily's brows knitted a bit and she eyed him suspiciously. 

"How much?" She asked. 

James laughed. "Money? What's the fun in betting money? No, Miss Evans, I bet will bet you a single dare_."_

Sirius, who was already half-asleep (and the only one of their audience, as well, since Remus was now softly snoring alongside of Peter), awakened immediately upon hearing the word 'dare'. It was no secret to everyone in the school that truth or dare was his favorite form of entertainment—except perhaps torturing the Slytherins, beating somebody in Quidditch, narrowly wheeling out of detention, and watching Lily and James fight. Now he started intensely at Lily, awaiting her answer more eagerly then…something that waits very eagerly.

"A dare?" She inquired. "Honestly, Potter, if I didn't know so already (or if cared) I would have asked it you've gone mad! And don't call me that."

James wasn't taken back. 

"Come on." He said, leaning over and offering his hand. "Shake on it."

Lily was sure that if James was to present her with a dare, it would be quite nasty and would most likely result in her either dying or getting expelled from Hogwarts. She also knew—even if it was beyond her to admit such things—that he was a much better chess player then her. But all the same, she remembered a sappy little poem that one of her Hufflepuff friends had written about two months back when she had a crush on their Defenses Against the Dark Arts teacher. She could almost see the humiliation on James's face as he was forced to recite it to Madame Pillz in front of the whole school. Madame Pillz would immediately and no doubt declare that he either gone mad or was cursed and start stuffing him with nasty potions. Had Lily know where that dare would have gotten her, she would have refused it at all costs, despite Sirius's pleading look. But James's confident grin swimming before her face was just like a balloon that needed to be popped.

They shook on it.

"I can't remember—when caught by a thunderstorm in an open field, should you or should you not stand under a tree?" Lily was mumbling to herself as she dragged her fingers through her hair trying to get most of the twigs out. 

She was sitting in the tall, yellowish grass between the bulky roots of the tree, feeling quite miserable. She was cold, and even though it wasn't raining yet, the grumbling thunder proved the fact that their dry-ness wouldn't last much longer. James was sprawled out along one of the branches not so high up, leaning against the trunk and looking down at the miserable figure that was Lily. They came to a silent agreement that they would fight less when on different altitudes. 

James was mad at himself for getting them into this mess. Well, getting Lily into this mess. For him being trapped in a forbidden forest would have been a great adventure and a great cause of jealousy for Sirius, but what fun could he have with her tagging along? But no matter how miserable she made his life, he was feeling very sorry for Lily. That probably made him much madder than the former. He wasn't supposed to be feeling sorry for her. But she just looked so cold and sad that as she shivered and tried to rake her hair clean, he found himself thinking that he was sorry that they were such mortal enemies. She was indeed quite pretty. 

__

Lily drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair and glared at the grinning face before her, she, herself, radiating nothing but pure hatred. Her electric green eyes were narrowed, and her lips were pursed. James had seen it and now she saw it, too. But it was too late. Ugh. All he had to do was move the queen (he still_ had that damn queen!) down two places and it was a mate. Nice and clean and simple. And of course, as Lily watched, she saw no way of accusing him of cheating. James grinned._

"Checkmate." He said, his grin spreading wider and the evilness growing in his eyes by the second. Lily sighed and looked out the window. It was dawning, and the light gray sky was decorated with little bits of pink here and there. She yawned.

"Well?" She asked, preparing to hear her sentence. Lily was eyeing James with the most loathing glare her little face could muster. James nudged Sirius (who had finally fallen asleep) in the ribs and leaned over so he could talk to him.

"I won!" He said triumphantly. 

Sirius, wide awake now, was in a tug-of-war between feeling sorry for the poor Lily ("…the poor thing didn't have a chance!", as he had said later) who was probably not going to survive whatever James thought up for her, and being proud of James for getting better of his enemy in such ingenious way. 

James leaned over and whispered something into his ear. Sirius, being the talented person he was, managed to grin evilly and look terrified at the same time.

"James, you dolt! You should have used it on Snape! It would have been perfect!"

The look that James gave Lily scared her quite a bit. Anything that Sirius considered perfect for Snape was no doubt fatal.

"Ok, here we go." Said James, rubbing his hands together eagerly, his eyes burning with wickedness that reflected in his grin as well. Suddenly he took a deep breath of air, and the next moment was perfectly calm. He jerked him head a bit to get the hair out of his eyes. "Since we don't have any classes today, you are to spend the day and night in the Forbidden Forest, not coming out till dawn."

Had it been anyone, anyone else besides James Potter—even that curse-kid Snape—she would have turned her back and walked off in disgust. But it was indeed James (damn him) and she knew perfectly well that if she did as much as gasp she wouldn't hear the end of it. 

"I'm not staying the night in the forest." She announced, stubbornly still. 

"You're not afraid_, are you?" He asked. Lily knew he would have a grand time if she refused the dare. She thrust out her chin and glared at him._

"No, I'm just not suicidal. I'm not staying in the forest through the night."

"I'm afraid, Miss Evans, you haven't a choice."

"Don't call me that, Potter. Honestly, do you want me dead that badly?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do. It would make a world a much better place to live."

Insults weren't James Potter's strong point. He was the living example of 'actions speak louder then words'. The action of making her stay in the forest through the night screamed perfectly clearly exactly how much he despised her. 

Remus woke up. 

"What's happening?" He asked sleepily. Sirius grinned and told him. 

Remus's eyes narrowed, and his ear twitched. He frowned a bit, looked at Lily then Sirius then James almost in disbelief. Then he shook his head vigorously, got up, backing James and Sirius after him. Lily watched as the three of them stood whispering quietly, occasionally hearing the great outbursts of James ("But that's not fair! I won!" or "I don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of it! It my dare! You're ruining it!"). But Remus, who was usually quiet and easy-going, had proven on several exotic occasions that he could be almost as stubborn as Lily (and if you knew Lily, this said quite a lot to you). They walked back and James dropped into his chair with a hurt "Hmpf!" 

"Fine." He said. "Ok, fine. We're giving you a choice weather or not to spend the night in the forest." 

"You owe Moony one." Sirius informed her. 

Lily eyed the boys, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. This was a trick, she felt it. She knew that they knew that she was not dumb enough to spend the night in the Forbidden Forest when she didn't need to. She wouldn't even if she did. There was something behind this.

"And what would happen if I choose to not stay the night?" She asked carefully.

James grinned. "You leave your wand with us!" 

Lily stared at them, her eyes now wide with shock. Then it really came to her that they weren't kidding. James really did want her dead.

Lily was loved by many, and, therefore, was hated by many. You can't have one without having the other. So, naturally, she had enough enemies that would have simply loved to turn her into a nice slimy toad or perhaps a salamander to know better then to ever leave her dorm without her wand. Now these…freaks (the first word that came to her mind)…we sending her off to the Forest without any means of self defense. Later, she told everybody that she knew from the start that she shouldn't have gone along with it. Damn that Potter.

She weighed the possibilities in her mind. There were many magical (and mean) creatures in the forests, but even though there were swarms of them after dark, that didn't mean there weren't any in day time. But if she when along and did the day without wand thing, she was less likely to encounter one of these beasts, much less. But then if she did, she'd have no way of protecting herself. 

Lily shook her head vigorously. "Fine. I won't stay the night. I'll leave my wand."

James grinned, and Lily's heart dropped. That's the answer that he had been hoping to hear. 

It started to rain, and Lily was miserable. She was cold, she was hungry, she was lost, she would very soon be drenched, her right cheek was throbbing dully, and to make things a laughing riot, she was with James Potter. How nice… No, she was not happy.

James, himself, wasn't feeling that great. He was thinking longingly about his Shooting Arrow (the NEWEST MODEL!!!) that was now no doubt lying at the mucky bottom of that pond. That same pond where they acquired the peculiar mosquito bites. He couldn't even give her a proper burial, thanks to Evans there. It was actually all her fault. If she was just a normal girl (well, as normal as a witch could be) he would never hate her and he would have never send her off into the forest. Then he wouldn't have to go after her, and he and Ellie would still be soaring through the skies together. 

"If you're still mopping over the broomstick, you better quit it." He heard her voice from below.

"That is just so comforting. Thank you ever-so-much, Miss Evans."

"Don't call me that. And honestly, it's a _broomstick_, Potter_. _A bundle of dead wood and twigs. We have to decide what to do. I just figured it out—you shouldn't stand under a tree if it's the only one in a field."

"Took you that long, did it? Well, it's all up to you. It was your idea to come under the tree in the first place."

__

She was gone half the day now. James and Sirius were standing before the forest, their brooms resting on their shoulders, watching the forever-black trees. Right after they had escorted Lily into the forest, the two remembered that they were late for Quidditch practice, and as James would bite your head off if you were a second late, it looked really bad to be in that position for the captain himself. They had rushed off. In the middle of tactics discussion, however, Sirius remembered a certain someone that was set free in the forest by Hagrid a few days ago. 

That someone should be very mad and hungry by now…

Lily was without a wand. That was their deal—she didn't have to spend the night, but her wand would be safely pocketed in Peter's pocket. Why she chose to grand Peter this great honor was a mystery to the boys, but they supposed it was because she thought they wouldn't give it back upon her return. She was probably right. All she had was bag with grayish powder that could be activated with just speech. 

James despised Lily. It was a fizzing, bubbling, broiling anger he felt whenever she was around. She always questioned his ways, always fought for the same first places as him and was always generously supplied with those disdainful sniffs that could last him a century. But James certainly did not want he dead. He jerked his head lightly to get the hair out of his eyes. 

First of all, she was friends with his friends (as hard as it was for him to admit that). And while he couldn't care less if Peter was heart-broken because the remains of the love of his life were found rotting in the deep of the Forbidden Forest, he knew that she made up a great deal for the points he and Sirius lost. And also it wasn't their way to kill a fellow Gryffindor. A Slytherin, maybe, but even the pranks pulled on Gryffindors have never been that long lasting.

And as talented as Miss Lily Ann Evans could be, he doubted she would have an easy time battling this specific critter, even is she did have her wand. 

James and Sirius had send a little third-year to fetch Remus, who was working on an especially disgusting essay, and so here he was now. Trotting breathlessly behind him, was the little third-year. 

"James, we have to get her out of there!" Remus panted, using his knees for support. It was quite a run to the western entrance doors through the maze that was Hogwarts from the tallest tower in the castle. 

"I realized that, Moony." James answered, his voice dry. "I'm looking for suggestions on how_ to do it, not weather or not we should."_

"He's right." Said Sirius nodding. "The trees are thick, so we can't spot her from up high on a broom, even with her hair on fire, and all. We gotta fly low, and that'll take forever. She can be anywhere in the forest by now."

"So can Spot." 

"Well, there isn't much else we can do. I guess we just split up and cover as much ground as we can."

"You guys could have the teachers organize a search party?" Squealed the little third-year. He blushed when the three others looked at him. 

"No, no. Our little Miss Evans wouldn't like that. She has a nice perfect record. You see, wondering in the forbidden forest for no good reasons and battling with the likes of Spot wouldn't exactly fit perfectly in there. We'll do her no good organizing a search party." 

"Hmpf. James, did you check if she's on the map?"

"I checked. But you know we have only a small part of the forest plotted. She's already gone off the borders."

"This sucks. When is she supposed to send up the sparks?"

When Lily reached a little stream that ran straight across the Forbidden Forest (the boys have found out about strictly by accident, and weren't sure that it was even there), she was to send up gray sparks into the air that would be visible only to those who looked for them. This was to be done with the gray powder that she carried. 

"I'm guessing when that happens it will be too late. No, I think we should just go. Petie can stay and look out for sparks. And if we don't find her by nightfall, then we go to Dumbledore. We can say that we cursed her or something. They'll believe that. C'mon."

And so they left. Sirius was to take the west end of the forest, Remus the east, and James was to head in dead middle. They kicked off immediately the little third year fetched Remus's broom—of course they had to torture him and threaten him and curse him so that the little boy wouldn't say a word beforehand. Then they send him off to inform Peter of his duties. And although it was still long till sunset, the sky was black and the earth in deep shadows. 

James flew just below the top branches that worked so hard to keep what little light was out there from reaching the mucky, earthy, bottom of the forest. He kept his eyes sharp and forward, watching for the sparks Lily was supposed to send up. 

***

At first Lily was having a good time in the forest. She had met a little band of child centaurs—these guys had just recently mastered their horse legs. They were racing back and forth between the trees, laughing and calling out to each other. They seemed much more down-to-earth than those that she had read about or was told of by Hagrid. They'd get dreamy later on, but at that moment she was content to watch them play, until a little red-headed one noticed her and they stumbled off clumsily into the woods, filled with pure terror upon seeing a creature as odd as herself. 

There was also a time when Lily saw something white and looking suspiciously like a unicorn flash by her, but it was running to quickly to tell. 

The poison-oozing mushrooms, however, she didn't like in the least. They were stubby, squashed purple (and sometimes pink) balls with little pimples out of which a disturbing orange liquid was flowing. It smelled vile, and even when Lily gave it great distance, it still made her head pound. 

But then, as she made her way deeper into the forest, the baby centaurs and unicorns were getting fewer and fewer, the calls of birds quieter and quieter, and it was getting darker and darker. At the same time, great trails of slime were smeared all across her way, and although Lily didn't know this at that time, these trails were made by Spot. And they were getting thicker, and thicker, and fresher and fresher...
    
    They were standing at the end of the clearing, under a few close together oaks. These trees, unlike the one standing in the center with it's thick branched and many leaves, provided as much protection from the rain as a folded-up umbrella. But no matter, both Lily and James were more than glad to be out from under that particular tree. Only when they were at this distance did they actually realize that the mountain peak-like spikes at the top of the tree were actually birds, more exactly, the beaks of these birds. The fact that they had but one chipped wand that didn't work properly didn't work to make the situation any more inviting.
    Lily sighed and dropped down, cross legged, onto the wet ground, splattering mud all over. The mud immediately began to soak up into her robes. The rain splattered on her head and ran down her shoulders, seeping into the thin fabric. She rubbed her face tiredly, the process leaving a streak of dirt on her pale skin. Her hair seemed to be the only however-bright thing for a ten-mile radius. Even the poison-oozing mushrooms were looking gray and gloomy.
    "What are we going to _do_?!" She whispered, pressing the bottom of her palms into her eyes and resting her elbows on her knees. James thought that he heard a strain in her voice, as though she was trying to hold back tears.
    Feeling uncomfortable, he shifted his weight from one foot to another, watching her rock back and forth. He did not like this. This put his off balance. James did not like being off balance. He could deal with Lily quite well when she was furious. He could deal with her perfectly fine when there was smoke coming out of her ears, when her head was the one of a shark, when she was about to murder him … He could not deal with her when she was crying.
    Awkwardly, James walked over to her from where he was leaning up against one of those umbrella-y oaks and patter her hair.
    "Stop—stop it." He said trying to come up with something to say so she wouldn't start crying. He shook his head, shrugging his arms hopelessly and looking at the bird-tree as though there were some great words of comfort written on it. "Come on, Evans, they're looking for us already. We'll be back before you know it!"
    It was like trying to deal with a three-year-old. He decided to use Lily's philosophy.
    "C'mon, Miss Evans. You know I won't let you hear the end of it if you break down in tears before my very eyes."
    This worked. Lily let out a wet laugh rubbed her eyes.
    "Ha. You're right. And don't call me that. How many times do I have to tell you that?"
    _
    Spot was not someone the be messed with. He was also hungry. And it was just Lily's luck that she found him when he was in the grumpiest of moods.
    "Oh. My. God." She whispered.
    He was not your average animal. Well, at least not many people would call a ten foot slug average. Lily certainly had never seen one in a zoo, even in the extremely-rare, exotic, magical creatures zoo she had visited when she was taking the Care Of Magical Creatures last year. There was thick, dull orange slime smeared all over him, and there was some dripping onto the ground in great flubbery blobs. And there was a blood-red spot in the middle of the—er—forehead which earned him his name.
    "N-nice sluggy… N-n-nice, full sluggy…" Lily was slowly backing away, and Spot was watching her. How he was going it she hadn't a clue, as he didn't have any eyes, but one thing was for sure. Lily was positive James Potter knew this—_thing_—was in the forest when he send her there.
    Spot slid a bit towards here. This action caused some of the slime that covered him to drop off, and it hissed angrily when it hit the ground.
    _I'm in the Forbidden Forest. I'm lost. I'm with a ten-foot slug. The slug is hungry.
    _
    For some reason, Lily didn't find herself laughing her head off.
    Spot reared and charged forward. The orange acid was shaking off, burning everything it touched. For a slug, he moved unbelievably fast. He was also screeching—it was the only word that Lily could find to describe the high-pitched wailing that now was echoing throughout the whole forest.
    Automatically, Lily dug her hands into the pockets of her robes, only to find them empty—her wand was with Peter now. All she had was that little lather pouch with the gray powder that would turn into sparks. She turned to run, but—just her luck—the trees in front of her had grown into what could be considered a great, sturdy wall that went on for far too long to run around. Lily would have marveled at this natural wonder had she not been in danger or her life.
    As she turned around, to look for some other means of escape, something hit her cheek. At first it was cold and wet and slimy—gross, but nothing deadly. But then it started burning as though she was on fire. A stinging, throbbing pain spread through the whole right side of her face. Terrified—and forgetting Spot momentarily—Lily wiped whatever it was that hit her with the sleeve of her cloak. The fabric burned, but that was all. The stinging on her face remained, but not as unbearable.
    She had been hit by some of the slime that Spot was smeared with. A drop of it.
    Lily lifted her eyes to see the slug standing right over her. The orange blobs were dangling and dripping like fat. It smelled vile. But the smell wasn't the greatest of Lily's concerns. It was probably the smallest, as the blood-red spot on his forehead suddenly ripped open and she could see rows and rows of razor-sharp, metallic teeth.
    As Lily screamed, Spot screeched. She jammed her hand inside her pocket, and fishing out the bag of powder, flung it at the monster.
    ***
    James heard the screech before he heard Lily and before her saw the gray cloud that was formed when the powder was let loose. He, Sirius, Remus and occasionally Peter had helped Hagrid take care or Spot when the slug was just a baby, so he knew the sounds that he produced almost as good as a mother. The wailing-like screeching meant that Spot just found something that he was going to eat. The high pitch meant that it was something Spot would enjoy eating greatly.
    His favorite food was human blood, and James spoke from experience.
    Lying flat on his broom, James shot forward at the speed of a bullet, dodging the common trees with the still only a professional Quidditch player was expected to have. But after while, the trees began to grow so close together that he was forced to fly above them in order to actually move and not die. All her could do was pray that he wouldn't pass over Lily and Spot. His wand was already in his hand.
    That was when he was the gray billowing cloud, dead below him. It was like watching the atom bomb explode in slow motion, except there was no _bang _and no one would die because of it. It kept getting bigger and bigger, spreading, choking it's way between trees and animals, settling around leaves.
    But James didn't stay to watch the show. He dived down immediately, rushing straight towards to ground. Dives were his specialty in Quidditch games—he always loved them—but now his mind wasn't set on catching the snitch. Through the gray mist he could see a bit of fiery-red that was Lily's hair.
    He could also see Spot, the bright orange acid making him stand out like a red-head in the snow. Without thinking, he pointed his wand to the biggest bit of orange (Spot's head, he supposed) and shouted something. He could feel his wand warm up as the magic shot out of it, and—
    —there was a "meow!", and Spot was slug no more.
    _She had finally fallen asleep an a little grassy patch between two of the oaks. It had stopped pouring, and was only sprinkling lightly. Storms that big usually don't last long. James's eyes were itching with fatigue (you'd be sorta tired it you didn't sleep two nights in a row), but it was one of those cases where no matter how tired you are, you cannot fall asleep no matter what. James yawned and rubbed his face with his hands to get the sleep out.
    Checking his watch, he realized that the sun would be coming up soon. They would have to decide weather to try to find their way back to the castle, or wait and be found by someone—hopefully that someone would be human and not hungry. He glanced at Lily.
    They had managed to reduce the swelling of her cheek that time when they reached the pond (that same pond at the bottom of which Ellie lay). James was decent enough in Herboalogy to know what would cure slug-acid burns. But the swelling was coming back now, and Lily looked quite funny, the right side of her face all puffed out. She was dreaming about something pleasant—a small smile was tugging at her lips.
    James considered waking her up in order to smear some more of the medicine on her burn, but decided against it. He was wondering what she was dreaming about, and even for a moment forgot that he was supposed to despise her.
    It was dawning. Through the rain, he could see a tiny bit of pink at the very edge of the sky. It wasn't the perfect sunrise, but it was the most welcomed one. The mountain-peak-beak birds ruffled their feathers and took flight, a quite unnerving process for the spectators. The tree seemed unbelievable short without them. James had to marvel at their size.
    Lily was moving. Her eyelids fluttered open and she lifted herself off the ground. There was wet grass sticking to her cheek and hair, her robes were soaking wet, the side on which she slept on was brown with mud. There was a smear of dirt on her face, her hair was a mess. _She _was a mess. But despite all that, James couldn't help thinking she never looked more beautiful.
    She bushed seeing him looking at her.
    "Have a nice nap?" He asked.
    Lily nodded, looking around, as though she didn't remember falling asleep at that place. She touched her hand to her cheek and winced a bit. It was worse then yesterday, maybe because yesterday she wasn't really thinking that much about it. Yesterday she had been concentrating on all the things she'd do to James Potter once she got her wand back and finding her way back to the castle. Now she wasn't even that mad at him.
    James got up from where he was leaning against one of the oaks and walked over to her, pulling out two of three tattered flowers out of his pocket. Dropping on his knees besides her, he left two of the flowers lying on the ground, and gently took it between his thumb and forefinger. Squeezing it, he smeared the creamy liquid that came out on Lily's cheek. She winced.
    "That stings!" She announced as he grinned, but at the same time she couldn't help noticing hold warm his hand was.
    "You'll survive." James said, talking as though she was a three-year-old. But as a matter of fact, Lily was feeling like a three-year-old.
    "How are we going to get back?" She asked him, leaning against the trunk of one of the oaks. It was wet, like everything else around them. James shrugged, settling down against the same tree.
    "I dun't know. It I had Ellie we could fly back, but as I don't that's out of the question. And it's really just out luck that my wand won't work. If would send up some sing, because I _know_ they're looking for us."
    "It's all your fault, you know." Lily said, but not in an accusing way, more like teasing.
    James gasped my mock offence. "My fault? How is it _my_ fault!" But he was laughing.
    "It you dumb idea."
    "Hey, you excepted the dare."
    "You came up with it."
    James laughed. Water had stopped coming down from the sky, even in a drizzle, and although the clouds were still gray and lay like a blanket over the side, the sun's rays had pierced it here and there. That lightened their moods sufficiently, and, for some mysterious reason, neither James or Lily were wondering why they were sitting side by side, so close together, and not killing each other.
    "What do you think they'll do to us when they find us?" Lily asked with a slight giggle. Having a clean record, she had never before gotten into this kind of mess, and it was quite exciting.
    "Nothing too serious. They'll be too glad we're alive. Maybe a detention, at the most."
    "How many students from that school ever spend the nigh tin the Forbidden Forest?"
    "I know, Sirius will be jealous sick." James laughed. Lily yawned. "You can't be tired already! You just woke up!"
    Lily snorted. "I've slept for—" She grabbed hand and looked at his watch, "—two hours. I have every right to be tired."
    And as much to her own surprise as James's, she scooted closer to him, lay her head against his chest, and by all signs went to sleep.
    "And what am I supposed to do?" James cried in an outrage.
    "Sleep." Was the mumbled reply that he received. "When they'll find us, they'll wake us up."
    James stared down at her for a moment, then let out a quiet laugh. Wrapping his arms around her, he rested his head on hers. The two of them were wet, hungry, lost, but oddly so, they were happy enough. Soon, he, too, was dreaming.
    ***
    There are some people that, when they want something, beg, plead, plot, wait…and there are some people that simply take. James Potter was one of those people. He was tall and his black eyes contained a wicked sort of sparkle that made many people terribly afraid of him. His coal-black hair simply refused to let itself be managed, so it fell into his eyes making the slight jerk of head that he always used to get it out the definite mark of his character. He had a nasty habit of pulling his wand whenever he lost his temper (and considering that it was very short, a great many people got quite seriously injured when this happened). The whole Hogwarts population either a) greatly feared, b) deeply respected, c) loved beyond what words can describe, or d) despised him.
    Lily Evans often deceived many people with her sweet name and pretty appearance. Sure, she could be the adorable little angel that they thought her to be, and maybe she was—deep, deep down in her heart or perhaps very distant past—but that's not the side of her that the people that even vaguely knew her saw. She was as stubborn as a mule, and took it as a compliment whenever someone chose to enlighten her of that fact. She was stuffed with ambition, fire, and determination almost to the bursting.
    The two despised each other.
    Or did they?
    **Author's Note: Did you like it? Did ya? The idea of Spot was inspired when in the third book Lupin was talking about Bograts, and how two of his friends came up to one, and the greatest fear of one of them was of a flesh-eating slug. Anyways, I had fun writing this. I spend a lot of time on it, so you should be a sweetie and review. Pretty please?
    **
    


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